Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise with great pleasure and enthusiasm as one of the supporters of this legislation, Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, H.R. 4709; and I am pleased to acknowledge Mr. Lamar Smith and John Conyers as the original sponsors of this legislation.

I thank the chairman for yielding me this time, and I add my applause to legislation that makes several important and noteworthy changes to current law.

First and foremost, it establishes a new criminal offense against anyone who knowingly and intentionally obtains or attempts to obtain the confidential phone records of a third party through any one of the bill's several enumerated schemes or devices to defraud. Penalties for violating this prohibition include a fine or a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or both.

Second, the bill establishes a new set of criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly and intentionally sells or purchases the confidential phone records of a third party without proper authorization or knowing that such records were obtained through fraud. Violators of either of these two provisions are subjected to a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.

Finally, in an effort to offer increased protection to the likely victims of such activities, this legislation includes a series of enhanced criminal penalties against any individual who engages in any one of the aforementioned crimes knowing that such information was sought in furtherance of or with the intent to commit any one of the bill's dozen or so enumerated offenses. Individuals specifically protected under this provision include potential victims of domestic- violence-related offenses, jurors, criminal witnesses, confidential informants, and law enforcement officers.

Recent investigations undertaken by State and Federal law enforcement officials have demonstrated the ease with which an individual can obtain the confidential calling records of a third party. By simply contacting one of the

many on-line data brokers that currently exist, the private records of anyone sitting in this room could be filtered into the public domain within a matter of minutes.

And if put into the wrong hands, such information could be used to commit countless crimes of violence, including acts of domestic violence, retaliatory acts against law enforcement officers, or acts aimed at undermining our current criminal justice system.

Madam Speaker, I think it is important to note that as we fight the crime of identity theft, this new and innovative legislation puts a dagger in some aspects of that. For example, the records of high- ranking officials dealing with government business could be secured, whether it is local, State or Federal, and put various actions of the government in jeopardy.

And, yes, a law enforcement officer that may be undercover, those records can be secured and immediately put that law enforcement officer in great jeopardy of his or her life.

And, finally, for those of us who are parents, we understand what it means to be able to communicate with a young person through a cell phone. Just imagine a stalker or a child predator securing those records of your teenage son or daughter. What a horrific thought to think.

And so it is important that this legislation be passed for the protection of Americans all over this country and as well for the integrity of our technology system.

The bill before us seeks to stop these potential abuses from becoming a reality, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure.

I am pleased to acknowledge Lamar Smith and John Conyers as the original sponsors of this bill. This legislation makes several important and noteworthy changes to current law.

First and foremost, it establishes a new criminal offense against anyone who knowingly and intentionally obtains, or attempts to obtain, the confidential phone records of a third party through any one of the bill's several enumerated schemes or devices to defraud. Penalties for violating this prohibition include a fine or a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or both.

Second, the bill establishes a new set of criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly and intentionally sells or purchases the confidential phone records of a third party, without proper authorization or knowing that such records were obtained through fraud. Violators of either of these two provisions are subjected to a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.

Finally, in an effort to offer increased protection to the likely victims of such activities, the legislation includes a series of enhanced criminal penalties against any individual who engages in any one of the aforementioned crimes knowing that such information was sought in furtherance of, or with the intent to commit any one of the bill's dozen or so enumerated offenses. Individuals specifically protected under this provision include potential victims of domestic- violence related offenses, jurors, criminal witnesses, confidential informants and law enforcement officers.

Recent investigations that have been undertaken by State and Federal law enforcement officials have demonstrated the ease with which an individual can obtain the confidential calling records of a third party. By simply contacting one of the many online data brokers that currently exist, the private records of anyone sitting in this room could be filtered into the public domain within a matter of minutes.

And, if put into the wrong hands, such information could be used to commit countless crimes of violence, including acts of domestic violence, retaliatory attacks against law enforcement officers, or acts aimed at undermining our current criminal justice system.

The bill before us seeks to stop these potential abuses from becoming a reality. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I include the following letters of support for this legislation:

Consumers Union,

Washington, DC., February 8, 2006.

Hon. Charles Schumer,

U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Arlen Specter,

U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Bill Nelson

U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Dear Senators Schumer, Specter and Nelson: Consumers Union,

the publisher of Consumer Reports, supports the Consumer

Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006, S. 2178, and

applauds your leadership on this critical consumer issue.

The Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act would go far

in protecting consumers' private telephone records. Consumers

have a reasonable expectation that their calling records will

not be released to anyone other than themselves. Congress

must meet that expectation by preventing stalkers, identity

thieves, and shady data-brokers from accessing consumers'

personal telephone calling records. Subjecting to criminal

penalties the selling of those records and the practice of

pretexting to obtain them will serve as a strong deterrence.

Importantly, instead of simply reaffirming Federal Trade

Commission authority to enforce penalties against unfair and

deceptive trade practices, the Consumer Telephone Records

Protection Act ensures that other federal entities are

empowered to protect consumers' calling records.

Additionally, the bill covers all wireline, wireless and VoIP

services, protecting the rights of consumers to keep their

phoning records private regardless of which platform they

use.

We look forward to working with you toward adoption of S.

2178 as well as other complementary measures required to

protect consumers phone records. These include stronger

enforcement powers and penalties for FTC and the Federal

Communications Commission; mandatory consumer notice when

calling records have been requested or provided to any party;

requirements that consumers affirmatively opt-in before any

of their records are shared, even with affiliates of the

phone company; and finally, provisions strengthening carrier

internal processes for safeguarding consumer information

under Section 222 of the 1934 Communications Act, with tough

penalties for noncompliance.

We applaud your swift action and thank you for your

leadership to protect consumers. We look forward to working

with you toward effective, enforceable consumer phone record

privacy legislation.

We look forward to working with you toward enactment of

this important legislation.

Respectfully,

Jeannine Kenney,

Senior Policy Analyst.

Madam Speaker, I ask the support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4709) to amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protections for law enforcement officers and the public by providing criminal penalties for the fraudulent acquisition or unauthorized disclosure of phone records, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4709 currently under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4709, the Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006. This legislation will protect the privacy of consumers' cell phone records and create new criminal penalties for the unauthorized purchase, sale or disclosure of such records.

Certain unscrupulous companies operating on the Internet use deception to acquire an individual's phone records and then sell this personal information. Typically these companies employ a tactic known as ``pretexting'' to deceive the phone companies.

By impersonating the actual cell phone account holder, these companies are often able to obtain significant private information about the individuals.

This practice not only presents a threat to the privacy of the average consumer; the Judiciary Committee has also learned that criminals have employed these services to determine the identity of undercover law enforcement officers as well as suspected confidential informants and witnesses. Additionally, stalkers and domestic users can use such information to track a victim's location and associates.

Amazingly, none of this is clearly illegal under Federal law. H.R. 4709 targets pretexting and other deceptive practices not adequately addressed by the current law and provides express protection in the criminal code for the privacy of confidential phone records information. These important new consumer protections cover the records and calling logs of cellular, land line, Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol users, and accomplish this goal on a technology neutral basis. The bill also establishes specific criminal penalties for the fraudulent acquisition or disclosure of such records without the consent of the consumer.

More specifically, the bill prohibits third parties from purchasing or receiving confidential phone records information without the prior authorization of the consumer, or knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained fraudulently. It exempts use of information by any covered entity if such use would be permissible under existing laws governing the handling of such information by telecommunications carriers. This exception includes any uses by agents, contractors, or joint venture partners to receive the confidential phone records acting on behalf of the covered entity to perform any of the functions permitted under existing law.

The bill also provides enhanced criminal penalties for anyone who engages in large scale operations to violate the law, or who discloses or uses fraudulently obtained confidential phone records information in furtherance of crimes of violence, including domestic violence and stalking, or to kill, injure or intimidate a witness, juror, confidential informant, or law enforcement officer.

The bill under consideration today incorporates several technical and conforming changes to the text that was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee on March 2 this year. This bipartisan legislation is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center For Victims of Crime, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, and all of the major land line and mobile telephone companies.

I commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Lamar Smith, for introducing this important measure. I also want to thank Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Conyers, Congressman Goodlatte, and Congressman Scott for their contributions to this legislation.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4709 provides consumers with important new protections for the confidentiality of their calling records without compromising the legitimate lawful interests of law enforcement, emergency services and cellular telephone service providers. I urge my colleagues to support this sensible piece of legislation and hope that the Members of the other body will consider and pass this bill expeditiously.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), the author of the bill.

Madam Speaker, at this time I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to yield back if the gentlewoman from Texas will yield back.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 2, 2006, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to receive testimony on the Defense authorization request for fiscal year 2007 and the future years Defense program.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 2, 2006, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Continued Examination of Implementation of the Exon-Florio Amendment: Focus on Dubai Ports World's Acquisition of P&O.''

Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 10 a.m., on USF Distributions.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 2, at 10 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to review the proposed fiscal year 2007 Department of Interior budget.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 9 a.m., to hold a closed briefing on A Nuclear Iran: Challenges and Responses.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 10:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on A Nuclear Iran: Challenges and Responses.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 10 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 10 a.m. for a business meeting to consider pending committee business.

Agenda

Legislation

1. S. 2128, Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2005.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, March 2, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building room 226.

I. Nominations

Jack Zouhary, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio; Stephen G. Larson, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California; Steven G. Bradbury, to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; John F. Clark, to be Director of the United States Marshals Service; and Terrance P. Flynn, to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

II. Bills

S. 1768--A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings, Specter, Leahy, Cornyn, Grassley, Schumer, Feingold, Durbin; S. 829--Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005, Grassley, Schumer, Cornyn, Leahy, Feingold, Durbin, Graham, DeWine, Specter; S. --Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Chairman's Mark; S. 489, Federal Consent Decree Fairness Act, Alexander, Kyl, Cornyn, Graham, Hatch; S. 2178--Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006, Schumer, Specter, Cornyn, DeWine, Feinstein, Feingold, Kyl, Kohl, Durbin; S. 2039--Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2005, Durbin; Specter, DeWine, Leahy, Kennedy, Feinstein, Feingold; and S. 2292--A bill to provide relief for the Federal judiciary from excessive rent charges, Specter, Leahy, Cornyn, Feinstein.

III. Matters

S.J. Res. 1--Marriage Protection Amendment, Allard, Sessions, Kyl, Hatch, Cornyn, Coburn, Brownback.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 2, 2006, to hear the legislative presentations of the Fleet Reserve Association, the Air Force Sergeants Association, the Retired Enlisted Association, the Gold Star Wives of America, and the Military Officers Association of America. The hearing will take place in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 2, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 2, 2006, at 2 p.m., in open session to receive testimony on military installations, military construction, environmental programs, and base realignment and closure programs, in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2007.

Madam Speaker, since I introduced this legislation, I rise in strong support of the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, the TRAPP Act. And I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his leadership and continuing support of this bicameral and bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, few things are more personal and potentially more revealing than our telephone records. Who we call can reveal much about our business and personal lives, including intimate details about one's medical or financial condition. Calling records can even be used to identify a caller's location. In some cases the unauthorized release of personal information like a phone record can lead to a tragic result.

Unfortunately, existing Federal statutes that could be used to target data thieves are inadequate. These statutes have clearly not deterred data burglars from treating confidential phone record information as a commodity to be bought and sold over the Internet without the consent of consumers, sometimes for as little as $100.

The underlying bill targets companies and individuals who traffic in fraudulently obtained confidential phone records and provides new protections for the privacy of calling logs themselves. It establishes a new section, 1039, in title 18 of the United States Code, that will provide explicit penalties for those who use fraud to obtain confidential phone records.

Madam Speaker, the bill imposes a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $500,000 on any person who, in interstate commerce, sells, transfers, purchases or receives confidential phone records of a telephone company without the prior consent of the consumer.

The bill includes enhanced penalties for cases where the information is used in furtherance of crimes of domestic violence or a threat to law enforcement officials or their families.

We need to pass this bill to demonstrate that we take seriously the obligation to protect the confidentiality of consumer telephone records and to make clear to data thieves that their conduct will result in a felony conviction.

This legislation supports crime victims, prosecutors, and companies and individuals who have been the targets of this fraud. A companion measure is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, since I introduced this legislation, I rise in strong support of the ``Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 (the TRAPP Act).''

And I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his leadership and continuing support of this bicameral and bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, few things are more personal and potentially more revealing than our phone records.

Who we call can reveal much about our business and personal lives, including intimate details about one's medical or financial condition.

Calling records can even be used to identify a caller's location.

In some cases, the unauthorized release of personal information like a phone record can lead to a tragic result.

Unfortunately, existing Federal statutes that could be used to target data thieves are inadequate.

These statutes have clearly not deterred data burglars from treating confidential phone records information as a commodity, to be bought and sold on the Internet, without the consent of consumers, for about $100.

The underlying bill targets companies and individuals who traffic in fraudulently obtained confidential phone records and provides new protections for the privacy of calling logs.

It establishes a new section 1039 in Title 18 of the United States Code that will provide explicit penalties for those who use fraud to obtain confidential phone records.

The bill imposes a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $500,000 on any person who in interstate commerce sells, transfers, purchases or receives confidential phone records of a telephone company without the prior consent of the customer.

The bill includes enhanced penalties for cases where the information is used in furtherance of crimes of domestic violence or threat to law enforcement officers or their families.

We need to pass this bill to demonstrate that we take seriously the obligation to protect the confidentiality of consumer telephone records and to make clear to data thieves that their conduct will result in a felony conviction.

This legislation supports crime victims, prosecutors, and companies and individuals who have been the targets of this fraud.

A companion measure is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate.

Mr. President, we have recently been reminded of the tremendous threat to consumer privacy posed by what is known as phone pretexting--the use of fraud and deception to acquire consumer phone records. The investigation into pretexting at Hewlett-Packard is just the latest example of why there is a need to enact legislation to safeguard the privacy and security of Americans' sensitive personal data.

Consumer telephone records have become a hot commodity and this information is a treasure trove for those who would misuse it to make a profit or who exploit it for harmful purposes. More and more, this sensitive personal information is being collected, stored and disseminated without our knowledge or consent.

Last Spring, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously reported a bipartisan bill that would protect the privacy interests of millions of American consumers who use cell phones, by making the act of pretexting illegal. The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act--TRAPP Act-- S. 2178, clarifies that it is illegal to use deception and fraud to obtain and sell confidential phone records. The bill ensures that the Department of Justice has the legal authority to seek criminal penalties and up to 10 years imprisonment for anyone who engages in pretexting. The legislation also preserves the rights of State and local governments to enforce their own privacy laws, to best protect the privacy rights of consumers.

In April, the House unanimously passed an essentially identical phone pretexting bill, H.R. 4709. The language used in that bill was worked out with Senators from both sides of the aisle before it was considered by the House, so that when adopted by the Senate it could be sent directly to the President

for his signature. I have worked for months now to make progress on that bill and it has been cleared for passage twice by all Democratic Senators. First, we cleared it with an amendment that would have also passed the Second Chance Act and consensus court security measures. When Senate Republicans refused to clear that measure, Senate Democrats also cleared the bill for passage in the identical form that it passed the House and without any amendments. An anonymous Republican hold on the measure is preventing its passage.

I know of no legitimate reason for this delay. The Senate could pass this bill today and send it to the President to be signed into law. Instead of passing this bipartisan privacy legislation, it appears this Republican-led Congress will recess without acting on this bill-- forcing millions of Americans to continue to play Russian roulette with their sensitive personal information.

This week the former chair of Hewlett Packard, Patricia Dunn, called on Congress to pass bright-line laws regarding phone pretexting to avoid a repeat of the fiasco at HP. The TRAPP Act would do exactly that. This bill would help shut down the growing black market for consumer telephone records.

I support this bill and I commend the bill's lead cosponsors in the Senate and the House--Senators Specter, Schumer and Durbin, and Representatives Lamar Smith and John Conyers--for their leadership on this privacy issue. I hope whoever is objecting on the Republican side will stop the needless delay of this legislation. If there is a legitimate concern, come forward and work with us.

The Senate should also act on a more comprehensive privacy bill that Chairman Specter and I have cosponsored--the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, S. 1789. This important measure was favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee last November. But, the Republican Senate leadership would not allow this bill to be considered by this Congress either.

Our bill requires companies that have databases with sensitive personal information about Americans to establish and implement data privacy and security programs. The bill also requires data brokers to provide notice to consumers when their sensitive personal information has been compromised.

We have a bill that significantly advances the ball in protecting the privacy of all Americans, and I will continue to work to move this legislation toward passage.